all debts and demands whatsoever he can make in order to us according to that of the Apostle Who shall his any thing to the charge of Gods elect it is God that justifieth who is he that condemnes it is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God Rom. 8 33 34. Christ being risen and come before his father spotlesse as having done all things intrusted well his father is forced to justifie him and so all the elect in him hence when any layeth charge and challenge to us whether Satan sinne or conscience this obligation is upon God by Christs resurrection to stand up acquit and justifie us who is greater then all that can condemn us yea greater then our own conscience in his justification of us as he is greater then our owne concience in his condemnation of us and this is that which over beareth and over-ruleth all which would overbeare our spirit and our peace This is the life of that Scripture also 1 Cor. 15.7 If Christ be not risen your faith is vain ye are yet in your sinnes Which Scripture sheweth where sinners should take hold to justification in Christ as risen and justified in our person faith should particularly make application of this that I am justified in him and so all my sinnes done away in his acquittance and justification Christ being risen and justified I am justified in him this is the proper motion and exercise of faith in this point I know that my Redeemer lives Jeb takes particular hold of the resurrection of Christ i hold in his own behalfe that he should live also by him And this opens that difficult place of Scripture Rom. 10.9 If thou shalt confesse with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved i. that Christ is risen and acquitted as personating thee The words doe not mean a historicall faith the believing of such a history but an applicatory faith as I mentioned and he that doth thus believe is indeed saved and delivered from the bond and condemnation of his sinnes This will be better strengthened and evidenced by referring it to proper examples Abraham believed in God that quickned the dead saith the Apostle which points first at Isaac and in him to Christ Now what was Abrahams faith in God concerning Isaac meerly that God would raise him and put life againe into him c No his faith was that God would quicken him from the dead and give him again into his bosome to be his heire and his Isaac his laughter joy glory and crown of his family and this sheweth how he believed in Christ whom Isaac typisied that God would quicken him from the dead for him that he would raise Christ and give him into his bosome to be his heire his Isaac his laughter and joy that God would take Christ from the grave and acquit him and Abraham in him or else Abrahams faith in that mystery of Isaac would have been imputed to him for righteousnesse He against hope believed in hope so should we against all that sence Satan can say about our sinnes still believe in God that quickneth the dead that God hath raised and acquitted Christ and therefore me being personated in him And this was Iohs faith concerning Christs resurrection he was not meerly historicall in this point but evangelicall and applicatory as plainly appeareth by his words I know that my Redeemer lives that God quickneth my Isaac from the dead whom I shall see for my self As we are delivered from the guilt of sinne by this that Christ is risen so from the power of sinne Rom. 8.11 therefore is this point I am upon Canaan milke and honey to all the people of God He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken our mortall bodies by his Spirit which dwels in us therefore are we debtors not to the flesh to fulsill the lusts thereof but to this quickning spirit by which the deeds of the body are mortified The rising of the Sunne of righteousnesse is in the little world as the rising of the naturall Sunne in the great world that which makes all rise open and revive with it infuseth vigor warmth spirit which makes all the creation renew and give forth fresh glory and verue still And this is the meaning and opening of the Prophet Malachy who useth this very metaphor To you which feare my name shall the Sunne of righteousnesse arise with healing in his wings and ye shall goe forth and grow up as calves of the stall That Christ is risen shall be to all you that feare Gods name to your diseased infirme ungrowing spirituall condition as the rising of the Sunne upon a debile body that which shall send forth a power spirit and vigor into your soules which shall heale all your diseases and make you full of spirit and springing abundantly Nature is excited by the rising of the Sunne and strengthened to bud blossome and beare Paul was well aware of the great benefit of this point I am now upon as appeareth by his high expression of this matter And what is the excellent greatnesse of his power to us ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him on his right hand Ephes 1.19 20. You which believe have advantage by the resurrection of Christ to pray for and expect such a power as is exceeding great to work in your soules for the subduing of your sinnes and quickning of you to all good as wrought in Christ when raised and then surely the power of God wrought in height in Christ if ever so farre forth as finite States are capable of the operation of such an infinite power and vertue which is a foundation of singular consolation in order to all our present weaknesse deadnesse and unheavenlinesse and all this vertue promised to be given to such as feare him Such a Sun-shine upon thee O poore Christian Christ being risen as thou art not aware of what glory and vertue healing and growth it will raise thee to Such a Sunne is risen upon thee which will make thee rise and shine every day more and more unto the perfect day which will make thee perfect to every good work to doe his will Now the God of peace which brought again from the dead our Lord Iesus make you perfect in every good work to doe his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight I may adde yet one thing more as consolatory Christ being risen the people of God are delivered not onely from sinne but also from the rigor of duty and obedience Christ being risen that body which he had here is changed and in that sense put away and Christ married to another to a glorisied body and the laying down of this tabernacle and betaking by his resurrection
Christ in a manger be beautifull to thee and offer the myrrhe of thy soule unto him in what mean dresse soever thou finde him gather up the fragments and crums of his Table let nothing be lost then his grace in this weake worke will not be in vaine I am truly of his opinion who was rather willing to beautifie Italy then his own house if Christ may encrease in his honour though I decrease in mine I have my end All things should be done in conscience of duty Neque si â—ecâ—â—â— agas apud neque si cum altero coniâ—abas vacare officio potest The Badger is called in Hebrew Shesh because he hath six spots whether to the Common-Wealth or to ones Family or to ones selfe alone yea and when alone So indeed is this little worke done in much duty and conscience to Christs glory and the good of poor soules Thou wilt finde the Printer the Author a Badger with more then six spots yet Badgers spotted skins were accepted to the use of the Tabernacle so let these spotted labours of us thy friends be accepted to the use and benefit of thy precious soule Thine in the Kingdome and patience of Christ NICHOLAS LOCKYER To all the Lords people grace and peace by our Lord Jesus Christ be multiplied YE are called a flocke of holinesses 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sanctitatum pecus Ezek. 36.38 Blessed is that people whose popularity is rather in graces then in persons in flocks and troopes of holinesses rather then in flockes and troopes of men Holinesse puts every person in the ninth place and makes him an hundred millions in number by which account a few flocks of holinesses would be an innumerable company of men Gods Host Mahanaim bina castra two Hosts ten Hosts ten thousand Hosts Flocks of holinesses are not onely numerous but glorious Flocks of Flowers in the spring flocks of Pearles like Pibles upon the Sea-shore all facing the Sun yea or flocks of Suns looking forth like the morning from severall serene parts and points of our Horison and all facing one another not so glorious as flocks of holinesses facing Christ and Christ them The shepherd is not smitten but smild on now and yet these flocks of holinesses are scattered Our Princes as the Prophet speaks not altogether Kings Isa 10.8 but altogether servants and slaves to divers lusts instead of so many Vines Isa 7.23 so many Brambles as the same Prophet speaks through the wiles of that wicked one and the just judgement of God The root of this bitternesse hath laine hid long and been that Achan which hath troubled us to wit a heart not perfect with God denying the power of what we profess The Gospel is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 * 1 Cor. 13.12 a riddle and so is the heart and yet if either be hid we perish I feare both though these times of much light lie hid such sad perishing of leafe and tree could not else be Spirituall inspection is the subject of this piece presented to you if it may lay open to you what hath laid open you to others will be matter of blessing God and his poore servant who hath his worke to unravell riddles and tread out labyrinths with the thred of the Scriptures and findes only this light to discover darknesse If a man will be safe he must obey necessity * Vt omnes intelligans fi salvi esse velint necessitati pâ—tendum sull The Scripture and thine own heart are two necessary things to be searched cast off the study of these and you cannot be safe Obey necessity read two Volumes over and over all the daies of thy life the written word and thine unwritten heart the one riddle unriddles the other the Volume without opens the Volume within and is a Glasse to bring Christ and the soule face to face The triall of our faith is precious whether by the rod or by the word by both grace is refined much which is very precious to a sincere heart Comparing our selves oft with Christ shames us humbles us conformes us and so derives his beauty whom we so intensely look upon which is a pleasant translation from deformity unto beauty and glory Imbecillitate alierum non nostra virtute valeamus saith Tully of taking those who tyrannixed who made many Lawes proximae quaeque dutiores and the last stil worst By the weaknesses of others and not by our valour do we prevaile saith a great Statesman So truly may I say by our weaknesses sloath carelesnesse the divel more prevailes then by his own strength simply considered though a creature very strong We so cut off our own locks and cast off our own mercies our own armour and walke naked laying aside Ordinances Scriptures and all close conversation with God and our selves that satan slayes us heaps upon heaps with the jaw-bone of an Asse with any rotten foolish thing carries us captive at his will Much confusion is now amongst us of which God is not the author but satan and our selves Vnsoundnesse swels the heart lifted up falls under the power of darknesse the divell and all confusion Take heed Christians of hypocrisie its property is pride pride puffes up and then God puls all down to worse then nothing a little of this leaven leavens the whole lumpe be purging out therefore daily every little of this leaven that when satan and temptations come they may finde nothing if possible of hypocrisie in you Lie at those breasts which give sincere milk Let your soules conceive by pure streams Persons who venture in preaching doe not you venture in hearing T is a ventrous age such as no eye ever saw more and lesse laid to heart Among all wonders amidst us this is surely the greatest that there is not yet shipwrack of all considering how venterous all are and of and to what parts In that ministery in which you cannot see your selves surely you cannot see Christ how much and how oft so ever he may be named as t is true è contrà Grievous wolves are entred in among us tearing and rending all that is hopefull the sense of this makes me to complaine not any bodies doing well Such who take not honor to them selves but are called the meanest in the body under the conscience and assistance of this may be a blessing to his brethren below and above him Grievous Wolves are entred in the more grievous because of our own selves Acts 10.30 as the Spirit of God hath foretold and of these would I could warne you night and day with tears Wild beasts are abroad never more nor more grievous and yet we are loth to believe that it is evening or any thing enclining unto Sun-set if in spirituals we were as promising as otherwise I â—hould thinke so to I looke for much good but not in such waies as many of us take If wounds in the body be no vent for the rottennesse pride and
to a more spirituall state going from a naturall to a spirituall body by his resurrection is a mystery it speaks the Law dead which obliged the naturall body of Christ and so his naturall soule as one truely man as we are to doe all the will of God this obligation in his naturall body he answered and then laid it down and by his resurrection takes up another state a Spirituall body laid down his naturall body marries himselfe againe unto another to wit a Spirituall body that body upon which the Law tooke hold being gone the Law is gone to i. one being changed the other is changed Rom. 7.4 Ye are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ that ye should be married to another even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God But now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we were held we might serve him in newnesse of spirit The meaning of which words is that we are apt to account that the Law in the strictnesse of it took hold of Christ whilst here in the body and was exactly answered and together with that body dissolved and not any more to take hold of any body personated in that but we as he are married to another a more Spirituall Evangelicall and raised condition of duty consolation Christ being risen and in his naturall body answered and abrogated the rigor of the Law in our person is now our standing obedience with the Lord at his right hand and so we are to look unto him for perfection in order to all that which the Law commands and say to all the demands of the Law that we are dead to them through the body of Christ and married to another To this a greeth Heb. 10.10 By the which will we are sanctisied through the offering up of the body of Jesus Christ once for all Out of love to Christ who did thus out of love to us sow his naturall body and raised it a spirituall in all simplicity as farre forth as we can we should tread in his very steps of that Law which he exactly answered and if possible attaine his resurrection walke in Gods will as Christ did on earth and as Christ doth now in Heaven this is called in Scripture dying unto sinne and living unto righteousnesse and being perfect as our heavenly father The Law is Gospell thus Gospellized and the Gospell is Law thus legallized Finally Christ being risen he is improving his raised state not onely in order to your good in this world but to your glory in the world to come Christ being risen he is gone to prepare a place for you and to make it sit for your raised condition when you shall come unto it And if I goe and prepare a place for you I will come againe and receive you to my selfe that where I am ye may be because I live ye shall live also That Christ is risen and lives again you ought from this to deduct to your selves the highest consolation that you shall rise and live as now he doth Iob doth in this sort and at this height comfort himselfe I know that my Redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and observe what he deducteth from hence and though after my skinne Worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God whom I shall see from my selfe If a man dies shall he live again yes how doth this appeare why Christ that was dead is risen and lives in glory and all his glorious workes live with him and where he lives you and your workes shall live also there shall be a resurrection ascention and glorification of all which should make one willing and waiting to die and change lives this for that thus did Iob upon this ground Thou art a poore creature broken torne and spoiled in thy body in thy soule in thy name in thy state that thou scarce livest but visibly diest daily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Cor. 5.1 why know that if thy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 dissolved were but turned to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quite dissolved that which is so mouldring if it were all quite down there would be a resurrection which would repaire all and make thy life and livelihood a life and livelihood indeed as Christs is now in glory How active Christ was after his resurrection to post away as it were about this great worke to take possession of Heaven for us and to prepare a life and livelihood like his own is very observable read Iohn 20.11 12 13 14 15. the story is concerning Mary who after Christs death sought him mourning with this designe to take him away as appeareth by her words at the fifteenth verse Sir if thou have borne him from hence tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away Upon this Christ discovers himselfe to her in the next verse and withall saith unto her Touch me not for I am not yet ascended to my father but goe to my brethren and say unto them I ascend unto my father and your father c. 'T is probable for as much as Christ said to Mary as soon as he had made known himselfe to her touch me not that Mary was on upon her designe to take him away to draw him away with her to some better place then where she found him and to pursue her designe upon the living which she meant upon the dead which tender love how vigorously did Christ withstand that he might without all delay improve his resurrection to our highest good to take possession of God and all that glory in which now he lives Touch me not that thou stay me not in the least from seising upon thine and thy brethrens welfare tell them that I am as diligent after death as I was before death to doe and accomplish my fathers will and my brethrens full blessednesse and by how much the more Spirituall and active body I have now then before by so much the more spirituous in my pace about my peoples good and uncapable of all that may in the least hinder I conclude all with the saying of the Apostle to Timothy 2 Tim. 2. v. 7 8. Consider what I say and the Lord give thee understanding in all things remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my Gospell ACT. 3.26 Vnto you first God having raised up his Sonne Jesus sent him to blesse you in turning away every one of you from his iniquities SEnt him to blesse you c. Christ did not take this honour to himselfe to be the messenger of the Covenant but was called precisely called called by name as it is said of Cyrus Call his name Emanuel his name shall be called the Lord our righteousnesse call his name Iesus Called by name outwardly and by nature inwardly sealed Labour not for the meat which